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Monday Poll: Are Your Going to Take T-Mobile’s ETF Deal and Switch Carriers?

If you watched any amount of TV this weekend or took a glance over at the sidebar of this site, you more than likely ran into a T-Mobile advertisement that talks about their new ETF-killing program. Seriously, these ads are everywhere, right now. Introduced during CES as their next UnCarrier movement, T-Mobile wants to pay the Early Termination Fees (ETF) from your current carrier to have you bring your business to them. It’s a bold move, though bold moves are exactly what we expect from a company led by a man willing to crash an AT&T party during CES and then call their CEO of mobility “fat” during a press event.

The plan works something like this:

Bring your business to T-Mobile, and they’ll pay up to $350 in ETFs per line once you sign-up for service and send them the last bill from your previous carrier.

Then, trade in the phone from your previous carrier to earn up to another $300.

You have to sign-up for a postpaid Simple Choice plan and also buy a device.

They will only pay ETFs from AT&T, Sprint, and Verizon.

My question to you today is – are you going to take their offer and switch carriers? According to T-Mobile’s numbers, they had 4.4 million new customers join their UnCarrier way of life, so you certainly wouldn’t be alone.

Being on an unlimited VZW plan and already paying full retail for phones, I would only save around 25.00 a month with T-Mobiles current plans. Since I recently purchased a Samsung Galaxy S4, I don’t really have any major cost savings in jumping on the bandwagon at this time to test the service. I honestly really thought about it because unlimited talk is a nice perk (for a phone.. lol), but most people I know text which is already unlimited. I will keep an eye on T-Mobile that is for sure. Right now I wouldn’t consider AT&T or Sprint as viable replacements, but T-Mobile at least has my interest. They are really making a push for consumers and I appreciate the direction in which they are heading.

I even went so far as to calculate corporate discounts and costs of the switch with a CSR at T-Mobile. Maybe the next time I am in the market for a device I will look again. The deal wasn’t quite sweet enough to pry me from my current situation.

Cellphone Chris

“Only $25 a month? That’s $300 a year with more included services. Honestly, I don’t know why anyone wouldn’t try this UNLESS coverage was an issue for them. I’m in the Northeast and have enjoyed great coverage and service with T-Mobile for years now. Factor in the value of JUMP! (especially if you insure your phone anyway) and I’ll be trading in my Note 3 for a S5, and then the S5 for a Note 4. T-Mobile is basically allowing you to finance and trade phones the way you would with a car. If you like the newest tech, consider it like leasing a vehicle. And wait, when I vacation in Mexico I’ll get free voice and data rather than using WiFi only? I’m on board and love the new approaches to the business.

Drew Chapman

I still don’t understand why anyone would switch. Their unlmtd data is only high speed up to 500mb. Then your throttled. Yes I would save about $100 a month switching my family but I am choosing to pay for speed.

The 4G is limited to to 500mb if you start at the $50 plan and don’t add more data. You can avoid that by adding $20 for unlimited 4G with no caps or throttling. I’ve been averaging over 30GB of data per month on my $70 plan and get around 20mbps on LTE/12mbps on HSPA+.

Bryan Ott

A friend of mine used 100GB of data in December no throttling, no letters in the mail, no issues. And you want to keep whoever you have, eh good for you to pay more I guess?

middlehead

I will probably be switching away from Verizon, but definitely not to TMobile. AT&T is the only other legitimate option here, and going through Straight Talk or AIO will save me $30 a month. That’s even AFTER the 22% corporate discount I have with Verizon.

DC_Guy

I will stick with Verizon until they kick me off my unlimited data plan.

Tim242

I am not leaving Verizon with my 3 lines unless they yank my unlimited. At that point, there would be no ETF anyway. I am not going to put up with T-mobile’s coverage, unless I have to.

Droid Ronin

Just had my fiance switch from Sprint with 4 months left on her contract, upgrading to a Nexus 5 with T-Mobile. How the ETF payment works is that you pay the ETF to your current carrier when you opt out. When T-Mobile confirms that you paid your ETF, they will send you a MasterCard gift card in the mail equal to the ETF amount that you paid. Not a bad deal at all.

tyguy829

Switching as soon as verizon takes away my unlimited

Tim242

Same here. Until then, I’m staying put.

jimt

You do know Tmo has unlimited everything? You will also save a lot of money and get faster data. I had Verizon unlimited and wish I had switched sooner so I would have even more money not paid to Verizon!

wh1te_mag1c

I don’t think T-Mo 4G is as fast as VZW 4G. At least in Seattle.

jimt

It’s about 3 times faster in the bay area calif than Verizon. Verizon = 8 Tmo =24 Have a friend with Tmo do a side by side test.

T S

Looks like the answer is the same across the board. it doesn’t matter how much you market the product. if you don’t have coverage, you can’t expect to gain customers. kind of a catch 22. no customers, no money to expand your network.

i did make the switch from VZW to TMo a few months ago and have been pretty happy with my coverage in town but there are spots where i’m just on Edge when traveling. Voice and Text though, no dead spots in Northern Illinois.

Adrynalyne

Either way, if 18% is typical overall, (the current yes crowd), then that is a decent jump in customers.

Cellphone Chris

The percentage of people that switched already and those planning to adds up to ~38% as of right now. Huge number.

http://www.twitter.com/nblufire12 Nathan Patel

Got the lg g2 for 450 and kept unlimited data for $60 a month. Tough to beat that. Still on Verizon

http://thatgeekdad.blogspot.com/ Rob Delaney

Waiting for better coverage from them. I hate my Verizon but they cover all the places I need (work, home, friends house, family house, vacation places, etc). Right now I get all of that but one set of inlaws and our home. I tried reaching out to T-Mo about a mini cell for the home and they said full price for it. Verizon gave me a one for home for free.

Kristine

I would have if only they could have given me full price for my note 3,to get it again. Would have saved us maybe $20/mnth, but that’s huge for some of us. Sad day. Plus my hubby was on the VZ edge program. We would have been paying out of pocket to much to transition.

HarrisonBxtr

Sell the note 3 on CL, or Swappa. Get almost full retail back to put towards a new device.

Kristine

Don’t you have to give up your device to get the program? At it said on the information, when you trade in your old phone.

HarrisonBxtr

Well no actually as it reads,
Bring your business to T-Mobile, and they’ll pay up to $350 in ETFs per line once you sign-up for service and send them the last bill from your previous carrier. <—–Says nothing of giving any devices.

Then, trade in the phone from your previous carrier to earn up to another $300. <—-Extra money towards a new device.

Even if it is more financially responsible for us with premium devices to sell them privately.

HarrisonBxtr

I am sorry I stand corrected, this article is poorly worded. Wanted to clarify for you so I contacted them:

You: Will you only pay my ETF if I give you device from my old carrier?
Jennifer: Yes, we do have that promotion offered. To qualify for this offer, you must be switching from a postpaid plan with AT&T, Sprint or Verizon and port your current numbers to T-Mobile. Trading in a working mobile phone or tablet and purchasing a new device with T-Mobile on a qualifying postpaid Simple Choice plan is required.
Jennifer: All lines must be activated in the same T-Mobile market with the same billing address and area code.

Wanted to be extra sure.

You: But I do HAVE TO TRADE in my device in order to get this promotion?
Jennifer: Yes, you need to trade in your old device to us.

Still 650 for selling, – EFT fee which varies depending on how much longer your contract is, you can still be on top with more money than trading it in.

Chris Hilbert

You can give up any device from any carrier on the approved trade-in list. You can trade a T-Mobile T139 ($20 at Best Buy off contract) for $5 trade-in value.

emoney

Chris, but would it have to be the phone that you are porting over from another carrier?

Chris Hilbert

No. Any phone, active or not, on the list can be traded. Keep your old one if you like it and it’s compatible. Trade in a T139 and buy a $100> device for resale. People seem to be buying Nokia Lumias for $100 since they resell close to what you pay.

Jon Garside

I was with GoSmart until I took delivery of the Nexus5. I switched to Tmob Prepaid to access the LTE. However yesterday we transitioned my wife, mother and father in law from Verizon to Tmobile. In the process they have gone from Droid Razr Maxx with a total of 1 software updates in its life (to 4.1.2) to Googles Latest and greatest with unparraleled access to bug fixed hardware. At the same time the family’s bill dropped to $180 including the new Nexus’s as opposed the $300+ verizon were extorting. My wife pulled the trigger when Verizon wanted $275 in charges to upgrade to a Moto X. She is moving here number to google voice later in the week o she can have a verizon prepay purely for voice on an emergency basis in remote coverage area’s

7h3_4pp12en7ic3

I left VZW when I got my N5 last November. Couldn’t be happier. Coverage in the LA/OC area is completely on-par with Big Red, and the speeds seem to be more consistently faster. Bigger thing for me – no contract, $70/mo unlimited with the best customer service in the industry. Yea, I’ll take that deal.

HarrisonBxtr

I left big red last April, couldnt have been happier. One thing I do miss is the quality of employees working in the stores…T-Mobile needs to step it up, VZN is miles ahead in sales and technical support staff.

SkullOne

Already jumped from Verizon. $23 less a month on the bill now. Coverage is the same in our area for T-Mobile and Verizon. Wife got an S4 and I got the Nexus 5. Both of us have JUMP and after the trade-ins we still have $30 in credit leftover for the first bill next month. So no contracts, pay less per month, same coverage, and have devices that have unlockable bootloaders.

Oh and I find T-Mobile to be faster than Verizon right now. My Verizon signal at work was LTE @ 1.5mbps. I’m at 20mbps with T-Mobile.

Prime7

I just switched over the weekend (VZW contract was already long over by then, though, so no ETF bonus for me). Lovin’ it so far: coverage has been just as good–sometimes better, since VZW’s LTE has been wonky for the last couple of months–and non-LTE speeds are much faster. The Nexus 5 also (as expected) blows away my old GNex in terms of performance.

EDIT: My bill is cheaper, too. Unlimited talk, text, and data, with 2.5 GB of tethering on T-Mobile is $70/month, vs. my old Verizon plan of 450 minutes, unlimited text and data, with no tethering plan for $79/month, give or take.

Prime7

Oh. I should also mention that I’m in southern California. YMMV.

Under the bridge downtown

Where in SoCal? Im curious as I am in SoCal too, and T Mobile service is not great im many areas.

Prime7

LA/OC. I live in the San Gabriel Valley, and I work in the South Bay (Torrance). It’s pretty good for me, and I get HSPA in most areas, at least, if not HSPA+ or LTE.

Tim242

Oh, you had unlimited tethering, just not officially.

Prime7

Oh, I know. But I’m just going by what the plans are. 😉

chjapa

I’m only staying with Verizon because I’m in an area that now has Sprint’s Spark, Tampa, and I’ going to go with them on a one year unlimited contract for $30 dollars less then I am paying now for a 4gb contract. That and Verizon’s constantly throttling data is annoying. My father has a HTC One V rooted running Cyanogen on Virgin (who use Sprint’s towers) and it’s fine, even for a 3G phone.

Tim242

Verizon cannot and does not throttle LTE. They only throttle 3G, and only if the usage is causing congestion on the tower. You will sorely be disappointed in Sprint’s coverage. Their coverage maps lie. Their LTE is only active in an average of 20% of markets. Test it before you port.

chjapa

Yeah fvck Sprint, no option of upgrading after a year anyway they shitcanned it. And fvck Verizon as well, the Nike – Beats Audio of cell phones. “It must be good becasue it’s expensive and everyone has it”. Nah, its overpriced sh/t.

Matt R Carner

Wow – I expected “No” to win, but not to dominate.

MichaelFranz

i really think this is just because of their current service providing. Give them 2 years and then ask this question again, i think there will be more of a response of YES

Matt R Carner

You’re assuming that VZW and AT&T are going to sit idly by and let TMobile take over the industry? lol okay.

T Mobile is starting to show that it’s a threat, while still a very minor one. Expect changes from the leaders to address this.

MichaelFranz

i hope so, im not saying they wont, i just think at this point they dont need to. If anything they want JL is bashing AT&T so bad i would expect them to move first. I agree the threat is a minor one, but it is real. The more carriers they bring over the more they will hopefully expand. It
s fun to watch, just gotta have some popcorn lol

Matt R Carner

Yeah- AT&T will bend first for sure. Verizon doesn’t really have anything to worry about. People aren’t VZW customers for the most part because of the phone choice or the bargain plan pricing. The majority of VZW customers are there because of the great service and network. They have a very small minority of customers that are throwing tantrums about not being able to use a Nexus device or too much bloatware or dis satisfied with their contract status and nice subsidized phones.

br_hermon

D. Going prepaid but cheering for T-Mobile all the way!

Skrewee Lewee

Could you imagine if Droid-Life was still littered with those T-Mobile ads??? It would be insane right now?!

paul_cus

AT&T life for me. Left T-Mobile after they dropped Catherine Zeta-Jones.

beerme828

I actually just switched FROM T-mobile to AT&T. I was a huge supporter of T-mobile until a week ago when my parents couldn’t get a hold of me when my grandma was taken to the hospital and then customer service lied about “seeing a down tower in my area based off of GPS”…

AT&T’s “$200 per line transferred from T-Mobile” deal made it very easy. Didn’t trade in the phones since they could be SIM unlocked. Bill is actually cheaper since I have a school discount through AT&T that T-Mo didn’t have.

It’s kind of a shame. Switching from VZW to T-Mobile was liberating. I feel somewhat disgusted with myself switching back to one of the big carriers, but at least I have no contract and could switch back if T-Mobile takes those last steps to solidify its network.

Tim242

How do you have no contract? At&t requires a 2 year contract for that promo.

beerme828

With the “Switch and bring your own phone” deal, you’d just need to port your number to get the $200/line. According to the terms, the Switcher Bill Credit: “Requires port-in of eligible T-Mobile wireless number. Must activate own phone, non-commitment phone, or phone on an AT&T NextSM installment agmt w/ a qual. plan (voice & data). Must maintain svc & good standing status for 45 days to receive credit. Credit rec’d w/in 3 bill cycles.” So, as long as you’re bringing your own phone, you don’t need a contract, just an activation and maintained service for 45 days on AT&T.

I tried using their service several months ago but I couldn’t deal with EDGE. I am on the outskirts of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Bell apparently owns much of the spectrum here and refuses to upgrade .. pretty typical of CB.

Sankyou

No one can deal with Edge FWIW.

Michael Hammond

Coverage sucks – saying with Big Red

Tim242

Me too, as long as they don’t try to take my unlimited.

Mikey Styles

Until I see an actual network improvement in coverage over thier nationwide footprint(not just a handful of places) along with a better Consumer Report concerning their customer service I’ll gut it out for now. I still have my unlimited with excellent customer care all the time & have a grandfathered plan in which I pay $72 month. If that’s fully taken away it could speed the process up. But I’m in a holding pattern till I feel there is a real light not some fancy maketing ploy with words & jokes. Gotta see some proof across the board not just a handful of markets.

charesa39

Switched from VZW to T-Mo last month. Haven’t regretted it for one second. My coverage is actually A LOT better everywhere I go here in Orange County, CA.

jbdan

I switched (3 lines) to tmo from vzw in April 2013. It was a great move.

Severo Rivera

Seems like the only thing T-Mobile hasn’t nailed yet is coverage.

ja7lewis

Nope, not when their coverage map says I can only get 2g in my area.

Matt R Carner

I asked all members of the VZW Share Everything plan that I manage (9 people) if they would like to switch to T Mobile with the new offerings. All of them said “No”, and most laughed when asked. Several of them came to me from T Mobile because of poor coverage, and horrible customer service.

There’s a reason that VZW still leads in subscribers…

sinnerofa10shun

I already did. The coverage is fine for me and everywhere I travel.

zepfloyd

I’ve been using T-Mobile ($30 Plan) and my regular Verizon plan side by side for a little while now… I’d love to switch entirely but in closely comparing, it just doesn’t make sense to. The network needs more help still on several fronts. At the Ranger/Flyer game at the Garden last night in NYC, TMO wouldn’t give me a data connection for more than a few seconds even with a good signal, it was so overloaded. Verizon while a bit slow at times on LTE still functioned the whole time fine. That’s the difference. (worth paying for IMO)

trixnkix637

As soon as Verizon pries my Unlimited from the grip of my hands, I’ll be a T-Mobile customer yet again.

hkklife

Same here. As long as I can keep my grandfathered unlimited LTE, I’m staying put. VZW’s stunning (unexpectedly nice) price drops on full retail device pricing the past few months has been a very pleasant surprise.

trixnkix637

Agreed. Especially on such a top tier line like the new DROIDs.

Jim Foskett

Switched yesterday. Wife and I were frustrated with how slow our phones have gotten, didn’t want to move from unlimited data to tiered, and how much we were paying with Verizon. Even with the additional monthly cost of our phones, we are still paying less. Plus we now have unlimited everything and I can tether my tablet without an extra fee.

mog386

“Unlimited”

Data on Tmo is not metered but it’s throttled after 5GB. Almost to uselessness

http://androidandme.com/ Taylor Wimberly

Not true.

Andrew

The $70 unlimited plan is not throttled after 5GB. However, tethered data is officially limited to 2.5gb/month, after which there is a hard cutoff.

http://www.facebook.com/joeyklatzko Joseph Klatzko

False. While they do have plans that throttle after certain data caps, they do have a truly unlimited plan that doesn’t throttle at all

HarrisonBxtr

I can confirm this, just got off the phone with customer service.

http://techonblogger.ward.pro/ Stynkfysh

I have not found that to be the case at all. I have used 5+GB on the phone and also tethered 4GB and have had no slowdown whatsoever.

Tim242

Not on all plans. I think the $70 plan is the one not throttled.

Sankyou

Switched 8 days ago but was trying TMobile out prior. Get faster LTE at my house but the coverage for LTE seems flakier in Denver. The nice thing is their HSPA+ network is fantastic. I turn off LTE unless I feel the need and get between 8-10Mbit/s consistently on HSPA+. My old VZ plan was 700 minutes shared and 4gb of data for $75 after taxes (my portion) but now I’m at $70 after taxes for unlimited everything (with discounts) and I can switch my phone whenever I want.

Good_Ole_Pinocchio

No…. I’m already on At&t prepaid. I don’t need Tmobile.

fauxshizzl

I wonder if I a signed a new contract with VZ and switched to T-Mobile the next day if they would pay the ETF and I get to keep the brand new phone and sell it.

zepfloyd

that’s not at all how it works. You have to turn the phones in.

Doan

Which phone? I have two phones I could trade in. One old, and one recent. I could trade in an old cheap smartphone if they don’t specify whether or not it must be the phone purchased with the contract subsidy.

ki11ak3nn

And you still have to buy a new phone from them. Sell the old and buy a new one.

Doan

On-contract phones are cheap. My old, but still high-end smartphone would make a great birthday gift. Even if I decided to sell it, I’d get more selling it to a real person, and being a high-demand phone, it’d still go quickly.

In the end, it would make more sense to trade a cheap phone to complete the T-mobile deal, doing something else with my good phone.

fauxshizzl

Turn in my phone to who? T-mobile?

T S

nope. specifically says you have to trade in your phone.

Chris Hilbert

You have to trade in *a phone*. Doesn’t have to be the one with service or even one with your current carrier. You can buy a prepaid flip phone at Best Buy for $20 off contract to use as trade-in and flip your expensive device on Swappa or ebay.

I think you would have to wait until after the 14 day return period. Verizon has a policy that says they can charge up to $500 for a phone not returned during the return period. I’m not sure if they charge that, or just the $350.

Ruben

I’ve already switched one of four lines. Coverage is not as great as Verizon (mostly just building penetration at work)but i only ever drop down to the still fast 4G/3G. Our area is part if the 700mhz rollout later this year so that will change. Definitely worth the huge savings.

I plan to switch, just when their network coverage is on par or above Big Red’s.

TemplesOfSyrinx

Luckily here in my part of NJ T-mobile coverage is already better the Verizon ever was. I’m still kicking myself for what I paid to VZ the past couple of years.

Bill Slowey

Where in NJ are you? I live in Ocean County and work in Monmouth. Wondering how the coverage is?

nvitone23

I live in Manalapan. Haven’t had any issue with coverage other than in one building or two for the month and a half that I’ve had the service.

Dominick White

Staying with Verizon, because only get 2g /no service here with t-mobile in central ny

hfoster52

Move from Central NY I did. Yeah their your choice is AT&T and VZW.

John Clausen

Strongly considering it. According to their map, they have good coverage where I live and go to school. Plus it’s cheaper than Verizon. Hmmmmmmm.

jimt

It’s cheaper and probably faster. 3 times faster in my area. SF bay area. I save nearly $1000 a year when I switched to Tmo. I love it.

MichaelFranz

Can there be an option to “switch if they beef up their service in my area”

Michael

Agreed!

MichaelFranz

I would love to switch, i really would. However there are 2 major decidign factors that keep me from doing it right now.
1) – i sitll have VZW unlimited, until its taken from me by force I will keep it and im fairly happy with VZW, minus how long it takes them for new devices some times.
2) the Tmo service is just flat out piss poor if you are not in a heavy metro area. For myself (husdon valley, NY) there is some service here and there, but when compared to VZW map, its a night and day difference. The speed may be there on tmo, but whats speed if you do not have coverage to support it.

I really like TMO and what they are doing, i really really do. i hope it scares the pants of VZW and others and it gets them to change some things. Until then i’ll stay where I am and use my ways of upgrading my unlimited line when i can

Jon Colgan

Ditto. Fan of T-Mo and their ETF-buyout, but their netowrk is not, shall we say, up to speed yet. So I think CellBreaker.com is a better way to get out of a contract w/ no ETF b/c you can switch to any carrier you like, not just the one running the ETF-buyout.

Eskimo128

Ditto. I bought a SIM card and $30 of service and tried it out on my Nexus5 – couldn’t even consistently get service, let alone data, at my house. Sorry T-Mo!

Dan Bracey

Already switched in VA Beach. Faster LTE than VZW.

David Benson

Northern VA here. The T-Mobile coverage is good here also. I just wonder what will happen when I travel outside my living area.

HarrisonBxtr

I am in Nova as well. Its great in and around town, and dc and such however traveling can be annoying, there are times when you get only edge or nothing at all. More so the first. A big problem for me is interstates. They need to have coverage more so than other places. You need connectivity when traveling in case of a accident, look up directions, etc.

Good luck with your travels.

Stephen D

I already switched awhile ago and I know of a few people who switched the day after this was announced, with more planning to switch soon.

Bionicman

hows the coverage for you?

Aooga

Fine for me in the CA bay area. Usually always on LTE or HSPA+.

Stephen D

Quite excellent. I have coverage that is at least on par with Verizon, if not better, and I’m getting much faster data speeds.

R

Location location location

Bionicman

Thinking about it but as of now no. The lesser coverage than Verizon part scares me but I love option to leave VZW. I have even read that my VZW Note 3 would work with Tmobile so its definitely interesting to me.

Dan Bracey

Except that you have to trade in your phone to get the ETF payoff…

Bionicman

according to the above post, i only have to trade in my phone to get the additional 300. can anyone else confirm that?

Dan Bracey

The post is wrong. I called the TMobile guy out on the trade in thing and he said “If you don’t trade in your phone, we won’t reimburse your ETF.” Besides, TMo has a Note 3 for $0 down anyway….

Doan

Did they clarify it had to be the phone you had last active on your line? or the phone you purchased with the contract subsidy?

If not, it’s not difficult to pick up a cheap/free smartphone nobody wants anymore for the trade-in.

Dan Bracey

No, they didn’t clarify that. I actually said “I have a drawer full of old crappy VZW, could I use one of those?” He didn’t answer that question.

They took the IMEI off the trade in phone. I’m not sure if that’s on my VZW bill anywhere — I can’t even get to online bill pay anymore.

Bionicman

i actually have an old HTC incredible that i can donate to the cause haha this would be great to know

Ian

according to the above post: “You have to sign-up for a postpaid Simple Choice plan and also buy a device.”

AnotherAndroidKid

And that need to purchase a phone from them is the hold up here for me switching. I’d rather just outright buy a moto x for both my wife and i (or an n5 for me) but TMo doesn’t seem to offer either. Since they only offer a 16GB N5, that i have little interest in.

Chris Hilbert

You can trade in any phone from any carrier on the approved trade-in list. This includes a prepaid $20 T-Mobile T139 that goes for $20 at Best Buy.

Jonathan

So does this mean one could not take advantage of this and get a moto x through moto maker?

JJ69Chev

if/ when their coverage expands I’ll Leave VZW

JJ69Chev

or when VZW takes my unlimited, which their sales reps always tell me is going to happen.

crazed_z06

Sales Reps just trying to make you sign a new service contract lol.

Phillip Burns

I’ve heard this from several people now. They’re going to take it away, just a matter of time now. I’m in the same boat. Still have the VZW unlimited with my Note 3.

crazed_z06

Lol Hell no. Riding Unlimited Verizon until the wheels fall off.

trixnkix637

And with Motorola throwing around Moto X deals like they’ve been, the wheels never felt more sturdy.

j

This. I am now on a contract free unlimited plan with no device restrictions. Couldn’t ask for much else, especially with manufacturers smartening up and giving QUALITY phones for $350-400.

Guy Pierce

I was in the same boat. Until it was time to upgrade my two GNex’s. There was no way I was going to pay $1,600 for new phones just to keep unlimited. I have had T-Mo for about 2 months now and have no complaints. In fact several areas where I had terrible or no service at all (verizon) I’m getting 4G LTE. So very happy with the switch.

P.S. T-Mo has unlimited data too!

AndrewScottRox

If you are paying $1,600 for two phones you are doing it wrong. I got a brand new Moto X on http://www.swappa.com for $300. Lots of great deals there.

Guy Pierce

I looked there but the wife did not want a used phone. It was not just the money that me switch. It was also the fact they also offered the unlimited plan. And I just like the direction the company is moving. I was tired of paying Verizon more and getting less and less. I also get 2.5GB of tethering through T-Mo. With Verizon it was another $20.00. What really pissed me off is when Verizon announced that it was weeding/forcing people out of their unlimited plans.

Art Holguin

I dont know anyone who has been forced from their unlimited plan on Verizon. I have one close friend with Tmo and he says its a dramatic difference from staying within his “unlimited unrestricted data 2gb and the limited after reaching 2gb being throttled. Hes ready to move just waiting for new phones now. Good luck on your unlimited throttled 2gb

Guy Pierce

By forced what I mean is… You have to buy the phones full price (no payment plans) and you can’t adjust you plans to keep it. And we all know Verizon WILL remove ALL from unlimited when they want. And about the throttling… I have used 16GB of my unlimited plan and has not shown one iota of be throttled.

Ralph Bretz

Isn’t T-Mobile’s unlimited data only for the first 2 GB then it gets throttled? or was that previously? Or you get so much on 4G then go down to 3G? Since T-Mobile isn’t an option at all where I’m stuck I’ve never looked at it.

Guy Pierce

No the unlimited plan is unlimited 4G LTE, All other plans get throttled.

As of right now for Verizon, It’s only $400/phone off-contract, so at most for two phones it’d be $800. Even a few months ago it was only $500/phone, so $1000 max.. Not sure where you’re getting $1600 from.

But at least you’re happy with the service T-Mo is providing you, and that’s all that matters.

Guy Pierce

Your right that is what matters. I was looking at the S4 and they wanted $650.00 I believe off contract. Plus taxes and all that jazz. I was a little high probably but still cost was not the only factor in the decision.

AbbyZFresh

Not yet. I like T-Mobiles new plan but their coverage is subpar around here. There’s a good reason i left them years ago.

I’m gonna stick with Verizon cause i never had any problem with my signals with them.

decriptor

I’ve never had t-mobile, but that’s one of the reasons I haven’t jump ship from verizon yet.

Eric G Canoy

same boat

Allen Yates

Indeed. Until I can trust them to provide more than 2G while I’m on the road for work, it’s just not gonna happen.

HarrisonBxtr

Thats my problem I have t-mo, switched last year. LTE, HSPA/+ are fast as heck where we have them. Where I live, work, go to college its great. However on interstates/ traveling it is just awful. Maybe with the new 700mhz band they will upgrade their towers to lte or atleast hspa where there is only edge.

With all these people switching they have the capital to upgrade, I dont know why they havent that much. I CAN SAY HOWEVER, in this last year of having them service has improved.

Cowboydroid

I don’t understand this obsession with having LTE on the interstate. I never had LTE on the interstate with Verizon, either. What exactly are you doing besides driving? I guess maybe listen to internet radio (although I have satellite radio, so never had an issue with that). I can make calls and text just fine on the interstates.

HarrisonBxtr

Many reasons that we need higher speed than edge on the interstate. While Im on a trip I like to always know where Im going. I plan where Im going to stop for food, etc. I need to search for restaurants in the area, ect you cant start navigating with google maps without a data connection. In addition to that, streaming services such a pandora, spotify, google music, and even nexflix and hulu if youre the passenger.

If anything there should at least be HSPA, dont really care about lte as much.

We live a digital age where media consumption is a necessity, why wouldnt we have high speed on the interstate.

Cowboydroid

I agree with your points, but how does that apply to the near-term decision on choosing carriers? I never got service on Verizon that allowed me to do the things you cite as necessary for traveling. Sure, my Galaxy Nexus always showed “LTE”, but my data speeds were frequently under 1Mb/s while traveling.

HarrisonBxtr

If you follow the threaded conversation.

It started out as someone saying “I’m gonna stick with Verizon cause i never had any problem with my signals with them.” and another saying “Indeed. Until I can trust them to provide more than 2G while I’m on the road for work, it’s just not gonna happen.”

I added my point saying it truly is a problem with T-Mobile, I have T-Mobile, I went on the counter of switching to T-Mo saying that this is a problem that needs to be fixed. I wasn’t trying to influence to switch, I was offering a warning.

Cowboydroid

I never had a huge problem with my signal on Verizon, either. But my data speeds were also never as great as advertised. I switched because I now pay much less on T-Mobile ($60 versus $96), and as a bonus I get better data speeds in urban areas. I’m willing to put up with slightly slower data speeds while traveling for what I get in return.

jimt

I had Verizon for 15 years and unlimited and I couldn’t get data at Bryce canyon or Mono lake or the grand canyon. I think I couldn’t with Tmo either but so what, I still love Tmo and switched on 12/15/13. Verizon Freedom Day. I totally agree with you.

GinaDee

Just an American obsession. There are lots of people from Los Angeles who want the entire United States painted red even if they spend 99% of their time in the city or other highly populated areas.

T-Mobile went from O to covering over 209 million people with LTE last year alone. This year they will continue to expand even in areas only currently served by 2G. We’ve already seen plenty of 2G only sites upgraded straight to LTE.

The Metro LTE sites along the 15 FWY corridor to Las Vegas from the Greater LA area are being converted for T-Mobile use. This stretch was formerly 2G only for T-Mobile users so this is huge. That’s a very long stretch of rural desert highway.

They are still going to expand LTE using mid/high band spectrum this year but due to propagation characteristics it won’t go as far as the areas that are in the new 700 MHz zones.

Patrick Jewell

“uhuuuuuuuhhhhhhh Just an American obsession”

Perplexed

Until your recent rebirth as a T-Mobile cheerleader, you used to trash them all the time on TMoNews. Why the sudden change?

TC Infantino

Who said that the person trying to use their phone was the driver? And some examples of things you might want decent connection for:
1. Where is a good place nearby to stop for gas/food/hotel/medical service. Let’s Google it.
2. Kids need something to keep them busy. Let’s stream music/Netflix/Google play movie to their device.
3. Need emergency roadside assistance. Let’s Google the closest garage/towing company.
These are just a few things that people might want decent service on the road for.

michael arazan

They are saying that Verizon 3g is still better than T-Mo along the interstate. And when they leave the highway they still have service with VZW where as Tmo will drop out of service if you leave the highway in an area without a populous.

Franklin Ramsey

Honestly, with all the people switching, they don’t have the capital. Yet. Think about it. If you are paying the ETF fee for people AND giving them money for their phone in exchange for a Monthly fee, it is going to take months before they start to break even on these customers switching over. Let’s say a family of five comes over to them and the ETF is only 200 each, plus 200 for each phone they turn in. That’s $2000 T-Mobile is giving them. If they go with the Unlimited family plan they are looking at $130 and a $20 phone fee each, that’s $230 a month T-Mobile is getting back. Which means they would be looking at ~9 months before they have gotten as much money back from that family as they gave out, but since they operate on a ~36% profit margin, it could be 2 or more years before they break even on the family.

HarrisonBxtr

Sorry but “paying the ETF fee for people AND giving them money for their phone” thats not correct. I spoke with customer service online today. They only pay your ETF fee if you give them a phone, its not paying etf and giving you money for your phone. Look through the comments you can find my conversation with customer service. Lets say you trade in a note 3, thats a $700 phone, ETF fee at worst is about $350. They go through various outlets that referb and sell the phone. Even if they get a only small percentage on that extra $350 they are still making a profit.

I understand it takes time for them to make money, however lets not kid ourselves. They have some money in their bank. They should feel confident to spend some of that to better build out the network. They are gaining customers and unless they have the network to keep up these people will leave.

Franklin Ramsey

Um, actually my statement is correct. They are giving you money for your old phone. Yes, they are turning around and selling it to an outlet that referbs them, but Those outlets aren’t going to pay much more than what T-Mobile gets them for, if they don’t get them at that price. There is still a cost to T-Mobile for doing that, if only administrative. But let’s say they are just paying the ETF for people, with their profit margin at ~36% they would still take over a year to make money off my hypothetical family. And as of their last quarterly earnings report, they had 2.3 billion in cash in the bank. If they just spent 3.1 billion in cash buying spectrum from Verizon, they don’t have tons of cash in the bank to build out their network even more than what they have planned without taking on even more debt. Oh yeah, their current liabilities are over 27 billion. Since they operate at a profit margin much less than Verizon (~51%) or AT&T (~43%), they don’t have as much room as either of them to build their network out in any major way without taking on even more debt. Their debt ratio is similar to the other major networks, so I don’t see that happening until they start recouping some of their costs on new subscribers, which, conservatively would be a year or so.

J

Incorrect.. You were given wrong information or misunderstood it.. A Note 3 will trade in for over $300 towards the purchase of your new device PLUS you will get a Mastercard for up to $350 to cover your ETF. And on the network side tmobile has the best LTE network infrastructure with the most bandwidth… People have to stop hating just to hate..

ki11ak3nn

Where did you hear that a Note 3 will trade in for over $300?? Someone else on here said T-Mobile is only giving $175 for the Note 3. It makes more sense for me to trade in my GNex and not get much money for it so T-Mobile can pay my ETF, then sell my Note 3 on Swappa for $500-$600 and use that money to buy a new phone on T-Mobile.

davidh53

Actually your wrong, they also pay the trade in price of your phone, obviously your not gonna get 700 for your galaxy note 3 but I got 100 for my iPhone 4S plus the etf when I switched to tmobile to get an iPhone 5s. The reason I switched was exactly that. 0 down on a 5s and I don’t pay a penny more on my monthly payments it’s win, win for me although I do agree about the service, it’s not on par with Verizon at the moment.

Frank Urbanski

I hear that. I am lucky enough that I have 4G LTE from them at my house, my work, and all the way in between for Google Music. I hope that they continue expanding though. Luckily whenever I go somewhere where service is subpar/non-existent I can connect to a Wifi spot and still get Calls/Messages.

HarrisonBxtr

Wifi calling is a godsend.

Alexander Anteneh

only if you have a tmo phone. Wish it worked on nexuses

HarrisonBxtr

This is true, that is why I had to drop my nexus and go back with samsung.

r0l

Is it possible they have gotten better in your area since “years ago”?

AbbyZFresh

I already checked T-Mobile’s site coverage a few days ago. It’s definitely gotten better but i travel alot. So i need consistent coverage.

http://twitter.com/geoff5093 Geoff Johnson

Same. Just today I activated the T-Mobile SIM I got from their free SIM deal a couple months ago on the $30 pre-paid plan. So far I haven’t been too impressed here in NH.

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